moralist

You hit upon the solution... only the productive wave of creative human innovation can overcome the obstacles to civilisation.

Of course there's always the risk of being labled a heretic for daring to advocate the blasphemy of solvency. Capitalism is a system based on capital. Creditism is a system based on the lack of capital. Whenever any economic system becomes based more on debt than it is based on capital... it fails.

You're correct in that banks know full well what they're doing. There are reasonable limits to FRB and then there are abuses. FRB, government monetary policy, and the credit/debt system all work just fine... until a critical mass of people faking reality brings about the inevitable returns to reality called Recessions and Depressions. The banks' real ace in the hole is the government, which indemnifies their fiscal irresponsibility with it's own... the unlimited ability to create currency from nothing. The government even creates currency and then uses it to buy its own debt... the ultimate in mindbending faked reality. Many people actually believe that fiscal irresponsibility can evade consequences by defying the reality of causality. Reality will always prove them wrong.

Fiat currency operates on exactly the same faked reality as fractional reserve banking. FRB is banks pretending to have more money than they really have, just like fiat currency is the government pretending to have more money than it really has. In fact, the credit/debt system is people pretending to have more money than they really have. So whenever pretense pervades society, it gets a dose of reality like 2008. Banking FR practices and government fiscal policy are both merely an extension of the prevailing practice sanctioned by a society which lives by the same faked reality principle. And neither supporting FRB or fiat currency is an issue when everyone already has both and has no power to alter either except to change how they live. The only pertinent question to ask yourselves is: What do you do about what you already have?

...and after the government confiscated gold, the price then jumped 67% to $34.69 in 1934 by devaluing the dollar. Gold, like other equities, presents a continuing problem to government promotion of faith in it's paper curriency... simply because it's real. No thanks, Ben... I prefer reality to fantasy... For those who believe Ayn Rand had nothing to say about economics and business, which one do you think she would have chosen?

They are. I just did a simple search that took a minute. Look at any historical gold price chart. They all log exactly the same spot gold prices because they are public trading record. Ok. Then I'll assume that you can answer this question. What other policies drove up the cost of gold to +39 times its original price over the last 40 years? Do you realize that is almost a 100% increase for each year? No. You're looking at the wrong side of the ledger. The price of a thing is the measure of the (lack of) value of the dollars needed to buy it. Well, that's why you don't ever want to use Federal Reserve Notes as a store of wealth when almost any dollar denominated equity works so much better. I have some old dollars fromt he time they were printed as Silver Certificates. Do you know that you could go to the Federal Reserve Mint in San Francisco and trade those in Silver Certificates for packets of real silver bullion? This was a time when America was still a Capitalist nation. It has presently devolved into a Creditist nation. The deadbeat debtor government can go straight to hell as far as I'm concerned. As an individual I choose to continue to operate as a 100% solvent Capitalist with my own gold standard just like they did in Galt's Gulch. The current state of monetary policy exactly matches the values of the fiscally irresponsible majority who created the government in their own insolvent image. The present government doesn't just magically spring in to existence for no reason at all. That's not rational. Every effect has a cause, and today's (rotten) government is the literal expression of the (rotten) values held by the majority in this country. It sure isn't. I know because I belong to the rapidly dwindling political minority of American Capitalist producers. I'm not totally clear on your point of reference because I don't watch television. However, I'm more familiar with how the protagonists responded to the "system" in Atlas Shrugged by creating their own... so that's the ideal on which I model my own behavior.

Failing to protect yourself is what validates the actions of the rights violators, because it grants them the sanction for you to become their victim.

Because simply being a minority disagreeing with public policy demanded by the majority has absolutely no power to change it, the personal responsibility falls upon each individual American to learn how to protect themselves from the consequences that the majority sets into motion. Anyone who fails to rise to the occasion gets what they deserve for abdicating their responsibility to protect themselves. It's not really all that difficult. All that is necessary is to live by a different set of values from the majority, and that sets into motion beneficial consequences all of its own within each person's own sphere of personal influence. Those who do, will always find their own kind with whom to do business and all parties involved will consistently prosper regardless of public policy, economic, or political cycles.

It's a remnant from a bygone time when there used to be honorable men who kept their word.

I wasn't implying any number, just that what I said holds true. I can't find any I care about either, because all I see are people getting what they deserve. And another cycle like 2008 will return in its own time. There's more than one way to look at Ayn Rand's writings. Read with the eyes of a businessman she offers literally a wealth of practical advice. What others see in what she wrote depends on how they live.

And what happens when credit comes to be regarded as if it was capital... and not the lack of capital? 2008 You'll have another chance to understand first hand the next time the pyramid scam collapses. I've lived long enough to see this cycle occur a few times and learned how to protect myself from becoming collatoral damage.

I believe you. Eiuol. I'm completely convinced that from your point of view, Ayn Rand had nothing to say to you about the principles of Capitalism. For me she did, and I've been using her ideas in business for decades. So each of us takes away from her writings what they find most useful in their own lives. There are pitfalls to holding currency which represents nothing real except a fractional reserve banking system based upon illusion. This system mirrors the personal finances of many people who live by leveraged debt. the government uses the same system of debt except it can "create" money by diluting its value. And this explains why, from 1971 to today, the price of gold has gone up by 3,900%. The only reason people have eagerly granted their sanction to the fractional reserve system, is because they believe thay can profit from it. Except for the fact that their gain in that zero sum system can only come from another's loss, and not from any wealth they had worked to create for themselves. Sure, it ~seems~ like getting something for nothing, but no one bothers fo consider what they have to become to get it.

It sure doesn't any more. In 1970 foreign countries were demanding gold for their dollars and the US didn't have enough gold to back them (fractional reserve banking) so to prevent a run, the government cut the dollar exchange rate from gold and allowed it to "float". In 1971 gold cost $40 an ounce. In 2013 gold costs $1,570 an ounce. Exactly the same one ounce of gold... only the amount of dollars needed to buy it has changed. And that is why the dollar is such a poor quality store of wealth. Same Money works just fine for immediate transient transactions, as long as you aren't holding onto it for longer periods of time.. Fractional reserve banking uses the same quality of principles as a floating dollar. What an silly statement, Eiuol. Of course there is. The intrinsic value of gold is the labor and material costs mining and refining it into uniform units fit to trade. The market value is driven by demand. It's always a stupid idea to deny reality. I don't believe your description any more than you do because what I said is nothing even close to that. What I am saying is that anyone who follows Ayn Rands ethical economic principles in Atlas Shrugged will consistently prosper in business regardless of political or economic cycles. I'm not talking about the othrodoxy of Objectivism. I am specifically referring to the ethical American Capitalist economic business principles in Atlas Shrugged. It's true that it is not the ideal for you... but it is certainly an ideal worthy of aspiration for anyone who freely chooses to work to make it real.

If a paper note does not accurately represent gold, it's a denial of fiscal reality, and denying reality is a lying. This is similar to the A = B lie that credit is capital, when it is only the lack of it. This A = B lie causes economic depressions which are the inevitable return to the A = A reality that only capital is capital. The economic pain of 2008 taught people nothing, so same thing will happen again... and again. In my view, there is no such thing as an honest pyramid scheme, and it has nothing to do with Capitalism. People will willingly participate in a Ponzi scheme if they believe that it is in their own selfish interest, but that is also a lie because it's not in their selfish interest when their gain comes at the loss of others, rather than working to create wealth honestly. This is why a Ponzi scam is always zero sum. It does not actually create wealth. It only creates the illusion of wealth because gain that can only come from the loss of others produces nothing. Transferred wealth produces no wealth, and living off of transferred wealth is living off of others. This is a violation of the ethical code of Galt's Gulch: "I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." And this is why in 2008, people got exactly the fleecing they deserved, because they had violated this ethical code... and they didn't even bother to ask. Ponzis are not Capitalism which is not zero sum, because Capitalism creates wealth that does not come at the loss of others. Contrast the two economic systems Ayn Rand described in great detail in Atlas Shrugged. One was based on denying reality, while the other was based on affirming reality. Today, everyone still has exactly that same choice of the system in which they will participate. Choosing the ethical one brings real prosperity, while choosing the unethical one only brings the illusion of prosperity which is eventually destroyed by the return to reality called Depression. If people learned to live by the ethical Capitalist vaues Ayn Rand promoted, they would never have to worry about money for the rest of their lives.

His veracity matches the electorate who voted him into office.

Since neither of us possesses the power to set Bank policies, the only thing that really matters is how we each order our own finances. ...and yet I'm the one living by the sound ethical Capitalist economic principles Ayn Rand described existed in Galt's Gulch... while you support the fraudulent monetary policies of the government controlled banks. It's perfect moral justice that each of us gets what they deserve as the consequences of what each of us has chosen.

It is impossible for inflation to siphon earned wealth from those who do not use Federal Reserve Notes as their store of wealth. While government currency is just fine for transient financial transactions, it's wise to regard it as if it were rapidly blackening bananas. I couldn't care less that banks operate with fractional reserves because I have absolutely no power to dictate their monetary policy... only my own fiscal policy. So I act in my own best interests to protect myself from the effects of their swindle simply by refusing to participate. They do not have my sanction to become their victim, and they will never get it.

If I were an Objectivist, I'd say that faith was irrational and not grounded in reality.

I don't see Obama as any more of a minimal personal threat than the majority of people living in the US who live by the same values he does. After all, they're the ones with the power to elect him, so it's fitting moral justice that they should get the government they deserve rammed down their gullets. My resolution to this situation is to live out on the edge a safe distance from crowded urban areas where centers of government power and control reside. That's where individual Americans can enjoy the most autonomy.

Why just play a game when you can do it in real life? Each individual can be their own nation by owning land. They can be their own Department of Housing by building their own home. They can be their own Department of Commerce by engaging in a productive business as an independent Capitalist enterpreneur. They can be their own Department of Agriculture by growing food. They can be their own Department of Transportation by owning vehicles. They can be their own Central Bank by loaning money to themselves for business ventures. They can be their own Department of Health by taking good care of their own body. They can be their own Depratment of Defense standing Army by being able to defend themselves. They can be their own Department of State by making treaties (contracts) and alliances with others for the benefit of all parties involved.

I use preying as a perjorative because it is usually associated with the kind of personal gain that only comes from another's loss... which makes that system zero sum. Good point. The Police prey on predators in order to prevent them from preying upon others. I appreciate your kind words.

That would likely depend upon the scientist. Normative would involve searching for ways to develop moral behavior through self awareness, whereas neurophysiological would involve the amoral search to find the right drug to control behavioral symptoms. Even though the laws governing human behavior are objective, peoples' reactions to them are subjective.

I would also add the power of government to your example... as leftism is presently the most dynamic and fastest growing religion on the planet. Islam also conforms to just moral law. It is an example of the just consequences of worshipping a false god. It has the opportunity to undergo a reformation, but that is an open question. America also conforms to the justice of moral law as it is presently an example of the just and deserved consequences of worshipping the false god of government. This is what I love about Ayn Rand... her strong sense of justice.

Isn't the scientific method used to study the laws governing human behavior?

Interesting.... even chaos is ruled by laws.